Today's technology allows people to create custom items from digital images. However, having this flexibility does not allow certain items to be customized due to their construction. One such item is a traditional cork board.
Cork bulletin boards are well known in the art. Cork boards have tackable surfaces, where push pins or thumb tacks are used to attach notes. Due to cork's elastic properties, holes created by a push pin close automatically upon removal of the spike, but heavy use over time destroys the cork. Taking care when inserting and removing push pins is crucial to the longevity of the cork board. Cork should not be written on directly, meaning it is better not to write or mark on cork, which makes cork difficult to use as a printing surface.
If one wanted to fix a custom image to a cork bulletin board, then one would have to glue or staple construction paper, cloth, or some sort of poster with an image onto the cork surface. However, using pins or staples to attach notes or items to the image would cause irreversible damage to the picture.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,494,583 to Brooks describes how to make a cork bulletin board.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,136 to McDonald describes a bulletin board for educational use having an outer fabric layer with a map print, a cork layer, and a foam support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,425 to Ellis describes a display board having plastic foam covered with a closely fitted cloth or fabric.
Patent App. No. 20060150454 to Kang describes a pushpin board for retaining and displaying messages.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,516 to Morrison describes a storage and display device for pieced earrings having a framed cork surface.
Patent App. No. 20110145100 to Berger et al. describes for digitally processing a stationary order over the internet.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,583,799 to Manolis et al. describes a computer implemented method for uploading a digital image to a server.
The listed references do not address customizing a canvassed bulletin board according to a client order. Therefore, there is a need for a method that converts a client order into a canvassed bulletin board that not only serves as a message board but can be used as fine art in one's home or office, where push pins can be inserted and removed with very little damage to the image printed on the canvas.